How we discovered the mother cat with 9 kittens

One of our favourite stray kittens lives in a block at the far end of our car park. I call her Squirrel: she is a warm lilac grey shorthair, with black fur down the spine of her back. She is really cute, like Nermal in Garfield, but when we first spotted her she was really shy to the point of hiding behind trucks and motorbikes whenever we approached.

The last time we did our community cat neutering, Andy and I took her too. We then replaced her back at her home. By this time, Squirrel was already much more acquainted with us. Andy passes by her spot whenever he walks home from the bus stop after work, so we keep an eye on her every now and then.

During this time we had also spotted a very pregnant cat. One day while going to visit Squirrel to give her an extra meal (as kittens they need to eat more), we saw this pregnant cat. Thinking she might have already scoped out a place to give birth, we stalked her, as she walked up the stairs of a block nearby, to the second floor.

Turns out, that this cat had already given birth outside a flat on the second floor.

When we found the litter, they had just only opened their eyes, meaning they were 10 days old.

Her litter consists of 4 white kittens, 2 grey-black ones, 2 grey tabbies, and 1 white with tabby stripes.

Aswat has already been notified, and also gave the mother cat some cat food. He is also on the lookout for potential adopters. We have been monitoring the mother cat and her litter almost every evening now, and recently met all the people who have been helping to feed her, synchronising our feeding schedules. Andy and I are on dinner duty, dry food. The upstairs neighbour feeds her in the morning, and the neighbourhood cat lady feeds her in the evening (canned food).

One of the white ones have already been adopted, which is a good thing, because that one was the skinniest and has a better chance of survival being hand-fed with kitten formula. 8 kittens, 8 teats on the mother cat, much less fighting amongst the kittens.

The kittens are still being cleaned up after their mother after they eat, meaning she licks their behinds to induce excretions, thereafter licking them clean. But soon, the kittens will start to pee and poo like grown-up cats. 8 kittens will be too much for the neighbours and the family living in the flat the kittens now live outside of.

The mother is a cautious cat, but very friendly once she gets to know you. The kittens fathers are likely to be the brother of Mommy cat at our block - white, possibly cross-Siamese - and a grey and black tabby cat.

And it also looks like this mother cat is Squirrel's mother.

Will update more on them soon, and when I can good pictures on them. 8 personalities to profile, lots of work!